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Montage: The 20 Most Mortifying Media Moments of 2020
'Everyone should be afraid'
By Tom Elliott
In the year everything went to sh*t, America's media was already positioned for action. Rather than riding athwart the troubled waters of America in 2020, offering a beacon of accurate, intrepidly researched reporting to help guide the country, the biggest names in media time and again chose instead to abuse their positions, advancing narrow political interests in lieu of valuable, fact-checked information.
If there's a theme to this year's edition, it's the mainstreaming of gaslighting. Time and again news consumers were told that what they were seeing meant the opposite of what it clearly did (see, for example, #s 15 and 14).
Our normal custom with the Most Mortifying Media Moments series is to summarize the 10 worst moments of the year. But 2020 being 2020, this year we're doubling it up so that we can hereby present … 2020's 20 Most Mortifying Media Moments.
So, without further ado, enjoy this (mortifying) meander down memory lane:
20 - Media Mourn Death of Iranian Terror Leader
For America's media industry, 2020 touched off on a mournful note, as a U.S. rocket killed an Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani, a death that rattled not only the Ayatollah's anti-American regime but also America-skeptic U.S. newsrooms.
The morning Soleimani's killing was first reported, CBS's Holly Williams described him as a "revered figure" and a "war hero."
"He wasn't well-known in the United States, but he was one of the most powerful figures in the Middle East, sometimes even touted as a possible future leader of Iran," Williams said. "For America, though, General Soleimani was a problem."
CNN's Fareed Zakaria agreed with Williams that Soleimani is "revered" in Iran: "Imagine the French Foreign Legion, at the height of the French empire. This guy is regarded in Iran as a completely heroic figure, personally very brave."
Picking up on the French theme, Zakaria's CNN colleague, Anderson Cooper, likened him to the World War II leader, Charles DeGaulle, calling him "personally incredibly brave" and reporting that "the troops love him."
During the funeral for the dispatched Quds Force leader, ABC's Martha Raddatz — reporting from Tehran in a headscarf — appeared awestruck at the display: "I have been in the midst of anti-America protests in Iran before, but nothing like this. A powerful combination of grief and anger with shouts of 'death to America' echoing through the streets around us. This morning, mourners filling the streets of Iran's capital of Tehran for the funeral of general Soleimani killed by that U.S. drone strike last week. Aerial images capturing the sea of Iranians packing the streets to pay tribute to a man revered by many here."
19 - Media Pretend Impeachment Is Historically Historic History
After spending most of Trump's first term hyping every supposed scandal that entered the fray, Democrats and the media finally aligned when a "whistleblower" claimed President Trump abused his presidential powers to advance his political interests (namely seeking an investigation into Joe Biden's work in Ukraine). Several months of overwrought media coverage later — each anodyne procedural step along the way being heralded as absolutely "historic!" — Democrats successfully impeached Trump.
As Pelosi signed the articles, MSNBC's Chris Matthews commented on her saying Trump is now "impeached forever."
"There's a sacramental statement for life," Matthews offered. "Like a priest for life. It's a perfect statement of what she is. I think she is very reverential."
His colleague, Garrett Haake, likewise felt the power of the almighty: "I'm so glad Chris [Matthews] used the word 'ritual' because that's the word that has been stuck in my head about this all day today. It's beyond formality. There is something almost religious to it and I do think that's going to stick in the heads of these senators who have been watching it on TV up until this point. I cannot emphasize that enough."
That this story has become an all-but-forgotten memory amidst the mess of 2020 is another useful reminder that reporters should stick to reporting, not predicting the importance of their own work in the eyes of future historians.
18 - Mara Gay & Brian Williams Can't Math
There's mortifying media moments, and then there's Brian Williams and the New York Times' Mara Gay haughtily attempting basic math on air — and failing fantastically.
While trying to make some kind of point about Mike Bloomberg spending too much money, Williams and Gay forgot how division works, somehow thinking $500 million divided by 327 million equals something north of 1 million.
For good measure, after making this massive mistake, Gay assured viewers: "It's true. It's disturbing."
17 - Media Downplay Covid
Shortly before the election, the media offered blanket coverage to their latest supposed scandal: That President Trump knew early on Coronavirus was bad despite occasionally offering optimistic messaging. This wasn't exactly true — as we reported at the time, Trump acknowledged the disease's severity but said Americans shouldn't become crippled with fear. Ironically (or maybe not at this point), it was actually the major media initially downplaying the disease's severity.
When Trump and other Republicans urged travel restrictions from China, they were attacked for being racist.
16 - Media Overhype Covid
In a clear case of overcompensation, the media's pendulum then swung too far in the other direction. From March through today, the media has had one very consistent message about Coronavirus: Remain terrified.
When the death rate began precipitously falling, TV talking heads stopped reporting the data. When data became available showing heavy-handed, top-down lockdown-focused Covid containment strategies were doing more harm than good, the media covered it up. Worse, non-Covid deaths resulting from these measures are now being exploited to justify the very strategies causing them in the first place.
After Trump himself became infected and later encouraged Americans to not let Covid "dominate your life," the media were furious.
CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, intoned: "Jake, this is so disrespectful, I'm not even sure I can speak about this. It's incredibly, incredibly disrespectful. What does that mean, don't be afraid of it? I mean, first of all, it's a contagious disease that kills people. There's nowhere to even begin — it's gross."
His colleague Wolf Blitzer captured the mood perfectly: "Everyone should be afraid of Covid."
15 - Peaceful Protests = Violent
Be warned: Protesting peacefully during a global pandemic is selfish and irresponsible and dangerous and violent.
When many Americans began fighting back against Covid-driven lockdowns, they were roundly attacked in the national press.
"Extreme," "dangerous," and "unruly" were a few of the adjectives used to describe these activists.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" CNN's Don Lemon lectured. "I don't understand, what is wrong with people? Stay at home."
MSNBC's Joy Ann Reid was equally indignant: "I don't want to call them rallies, they're not protests. … It's not clear what they're demanding. Demanding to infect other people, demanding to make other people sick?"
Thankfully, as you'll see in the next item, this doesn't mean the media is entirely against protesting as a form of political persuasion. You just have to be sure you're protesting something they agree should be protested.
14 - Violent Protests = Peaceful
The media's public-health principles were however soon aborted after colliding head on with identity politics.
After the tragic killing of George Floyd, Americans began taking the streets, demanding reform of policing practices. And yet rather than condemn these activists as they did the anti-lockdown activists — both groups, mind you, are agitating on behalf of their civil rights — the media largely endorsed Floyd protests.
A common refrain was that anti-lockdown protests weren't "peaceful" because many of the activists were brandishing weapons. And yet once the George Floyd marches turned into a nationwide phenomenon — one that frequently turned violent, and even deadly — the media's ostensible concern over Covid contagion was discarded as casually as a used disposable mask.
CNN's Brooke Baldwin said the marches were "beautiful" and "necessary."
MSNBC's Ali Velshi, literally standing in front of a burning building, defended the Black Lives Matter activists: "I want to be clear in how I characterize this. This is mostly a protest. It is not — it is not, generally speaking, unruly."
When the violence became undeniable, CNN's Chris Cuomo said, "Please, show me where it says that protests are supposed to be polite and peaceful."
And in the most stunning singular moment of media hypocrisy, MSNBC's Joy Ann Reid — who had derided the anti-lockdown activists as dangerous super spreaders — celebrated the Floyd activists for "risking Covid" exposure to "explain to this country that we're fed up."
13 - Bubba's 'Noose'
Stop us if you've heard this one before:
The media — excited about a story that confirms all of its favorite narratives — gives the "news" prominent airtime before journalists actually do the hard work of thoroughly fact-checking. And, before long, the actual news turns out to pretty much the opposite of what these credulous reporters claimed.
It happened with Jussie Smollett.
It happened with Covington.
It happened with the Virginia girl whose dreads were supposedly cut off.
And then it happened again — in the most predictable, absolutely unsurprising development of 2020.
In June the NASCAR world was rocked when rumors began circulating that a noose was found in the garage of a black driver, Bubba Wallace. The national media immediately picked up the "story" and began using the claim to depict the sport as hostile to blacks and other minorities.
MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell stated matter-of-factly the "noose" was a "horrifying, racist incident."
Former ESPN journalist Jemele Hill condemned the "noose" as a "disgusting reminder of who this sport is for."
"You have a black driver, you have an opportunity here to open this sport up in a new way, and so for this reminder is very stunning, shocking, appalling, disgusting reminder of who, again, this sport is for," Hill said. "I'm very curious as to see how NASCAR handles this because based off what everything I've read is that this had to be an inside job because this garage was only open to essential personnel, so somebody associated with NASCAR likely may have been the culprit, which what does that say for a sport that's trying to create a more positive racial future."
Across CNN, ABC, CBS, and MSNBC, the coverage was identical: Why wait for facts when the story already confirms our favored narratives?
Just a few days later, the FBI confirmed what Americans who don't work in the major media already suspected: This was no hate crime at all. In fact, the "noose" was merely an ordinary garage pull that had been in the same garage since last year. There was zero reason for this to be perceived as any kind of slight against the sport's most prominent black driver.
So despite stepping on this same rake practically every month, the major media has once again been humiliated, and it happened because they found their actual job of rigorously reporting the news less exciting than hyping hate crimes, whether real or imagined.
12 - The Worst Broadcasting Blooper Ever
MSNBC's Sunday anchor Alison Morris made easily the worst reporting gaffe in 2020.
While interviewing sports journalists about the tragic and untimely death of Kobe Bryant, Morris somehow mixed up the "Los Angeles Lakers" with what sounded to viewers like the "Los Angeles N*ggers."
It's almost too hard to believe, but it happened.
MSNBC appears to have a 15 second delay, as the broadcast in some markets cut to 15 seconds of silence where the slip-of-the-tongue had aired in other markets.
Morris later responded, apologizing and saying she simply stuttered: "Earlier today, while reporting on the tragic news of Kobe Bryant's passing, I unfortunately stuttered on air, combining the names of the Knicks and the Lakers to say "Nakers," she tweeted. "Please know I did not & would NEVER use a racist term. I apologize for the confusion this caused."
11 - Media: Trump Will Use the Military to Steal the Election
The personalities often seen on CNN and MSNBC enjoy attacking Trump for indulging conspiracy theories. But that doesn't mean they're necessarily against conspiracy theories. Take, for example, John Heilemann, who often uses his time on MSNBC to spread conspiracy theories he's thought up despite not having done any reporting to support them.
When the theory is later proven false, the matter is never mentioned again, the record never corrected.
That's what happened when Heilemann spent many days last summer insisting Trump was prepping the military to seize a re-election through force. Grabien News made several attempts to clarify what the basis was for these assurances; Heilemann blocked the reporter.
10 - Media: Let's Topple Mt. Rushmore
When President Trump opted to celebrate the Fourth of July at Mount Rushmore, the media was … displeased. Not only did they think this was a bad decision in light of ongoing concerns over the Coronavirus, they suggested perhaps it was time to topple the whole pro-American monument.
"Donald Trump chose the most grandiose symbol of U.S. imperialism on Earth to usher in a very on-brand star-spangled spectacle," MSNBC's Tiffany Cross complained. "Mount Rushmore isn't exactly the innocent ode to our Founding Fathers as described in our textbooks, and it's high time we disrupt that false narrative that far too many people believe."
The AP's Jonathan Lemire employed the class "questions are being raised" journalistic device to suggest America's founders don't even deserve recognition: "Questions have really been raised about Thomas Jefferson in particular, but also George Washington for their holdings of slaves."
MSNBC's Mike Barnicle attacked the racist subtext he predicted Trump's comments would contain: "He will inevitably and predictably talk about 'our heritage.' In other words, he will talk about he is the protector of white America."
And on and on and on it went. Until Trump went to his next regularly scheduled event and the media's focus went along with him.
9 - Chris Matthews: All Blacks Look Alike
Not long after his surprisingly long career came to a crashing halt following another round of sexual harassment claims, MSNBC's Chris Matthews made the kind of racially-tinged gaffe he would relish attacking Trump over. While interviewing the Democratic candidate taking on South Carolina's Republican senator, Lindsey Graham, Matthews mixed up the black candidate with the black Republican senator, Tim Scott.
"Jaime, I see you standing next to the guy you're going to beat right there, maybe. Maybe, maybe. Lindsey Graham," Matthews said earnestly.
His colleague, Adrienne Elrod, quickly alerted him to the mistake, but it took a few times.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Matthews course-corrected. "The other senator, Tim Scott, what am I saying. Big mistake. Mistaken identity, sir. Sorry."
Matthews was fired a month later.
8 - Chris Cuomo
Chris Cuomo was a mortifying media moment unto himself. One of the first major media personalities to catch Covid, Cuomo claimed he was quarantining at his home in the Hamptons, as per the medical advice frequently championed on CNN. When he triumphantly emerged from his basement, cameras were rolling. The only problem was an incident earlier in the week, when an angry Chris Cuomo got into a confrontation with a biker, an incident that made headlines on The New York Post's Page Six.
When not misleading his viewers about his own handling of Covid, Cuomo helped his brother, the governor of New York, do the same. For reasons unclear, CNN waived its usual prohibition against reporters interviewing family members who are subjects in major news stories, so that the Cuomo brothers could prattle on air. The result was Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who was caught in a major scandal over his decision to send Covid patients to senior centers, which exploded New York's death rate — able to whitewash his troubled public persona.
7 - Mika Meltdown
In August someone must have put something in Mika Brzezinski's Wheaties, because the already fiery MSNBC host went on an absolute, hours-long rampage against President Trump.
The host, angry over Trump's mockery of Joe Biden's recently announced plans for a national mask mandate, spent several segments screaming at the commander-in-chief.
Brzezinski — who was anchoring the program without her usual cohosts and husband, Willie Geist and Joe Scarborough, respectively — repeatedly blamed Trump for the deaths of Americans who've died from Coronavirus. She called on members of the Trump administration who aren't "brainwashed by the cult leader" to start taking on Trump.
"We're here, it's insanity, it's our democracy that's at stake," she said. "I beg Republicans to speak out. Mitch McConnell, wake up! It's not about winning the Senate. What are you going to have after this? If President Trump is allowed to cheat his way through this election, what are you going to have? Are you day traders? Are you not smart anymore? What happened to you? Can't you see what is happening?"
At another point, Mika said she feared Trump might try murdering her: "You can be sure that you will never see me on Fifth Avenue, ever, ever, because he has said he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, I believe him."
"How stupid can you be at this point if you follow this president?" she pleaded to her viewers. After attacking Trump for posting "conspiracy theories" on Twitter, Brzezinski floated one of her own, namely that Trump is "purposefully" using Covid-19 to kill Americans.
"His constant lying is now killing people," she claimed. "It's killing people by the day with his calamitous Coronavirus leadership. It's killing Americans every day. He could be keeping people alive. He's choosing not to."
Brzezinski ultimately admitted her behavior was unusual.
"You know, if you're sensing a little intensity here," she told viewers, "I'm a little amped up because this is an emergency."
6 - A USPS Conspiracy So Vast …
Wake up, sheeple!
An elaborate plot was unfolded right before our very eyes.
President Donald Trump — a notoriously Machiavellian schemester who is perhaps most infamous for stealing the 2016 election thanks to his underhanded alliance with his sometimes puppetmaster Vladimir Putin — spent the summer busily executing his next sinister conspiracy.
Thanks to our sources — primarily Twitter users @ResistancefackTrump212eh213 & @RepiglicansAreHitler22133v3 — we're now able to report how this plot went down:
— After refusing to resign, Trump likewise refused to be impeached
— Trump then pointedly refused to stop Coronavirus from infecting Americans, likely because of his/Putin's financial interest in a little known rat poison named hydroxychloroquine
— Democrats, in a bid to save America, thankfully announced a plan to completely remake elections that depends entirely on massively expanding the Post Office, which will mean the agency finally achieves reliable mail delivery for the first time its 200+ year history
— Trump, being beholden to special interests (c.f., Koch Brothers, WalMart, and his DeutschBank paymasters), declined to endorse Democrats' plan.
Stealing our democracy right out from under us.
Well, that's basically what the major media spent the summer claiming. When none of this turned out to be true, the story was discarded as thoughtlessly as yesterday's newspaper.
5 - Media: Why Do We Need this So Called Constitution Anyway?
When the media suffered the grave misfortune of having their favorite Supreme Court justice die during Trump's term, calls came quickly and loudly to simply upend America's entire constitutional system of governance. Or, to put it in the words of CNN's Don Lemon: "We'll need to blow up the system."
"If the Republicans manage to essentially steal a second Supreme Court seat, the only way that we restore fairness is for Congress to pass an act expanding the court," the Huffington Post's Jill Filipovic said.
On cue, reporters used virtually every interview with a Democratic politician over the month of September to go on the record over whether they'll agree to expand the Supreme Court, end the filibuster, and/or add more inevitably Democratic "states" such as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
CNN's Jeffrey Toobin however concluded Democrats were "weak" and "wimps" and couldn't be counted on to go along with the plan.
4 - Biden Bus B.S.
In an incident very similar to the Covington kerfuffle — in which a short snippet of video appeared to show something quite different from what actually occurred — America's political media spent much of the closing days of the 2020 election circulating a since-debunked story about Trump supporters threatening the Biden campaign.
Like The New York Times' widely misreported claim Trump only spent $750 on federal income taxes during his first two years as president, this was yet another one of these "major" stories that shot around the media echo chamber that, upon closer examination, was the exact opposite of what was reported. MSNBC and CNN's combined mentions of the story over the weekend before Election Day totaled 544.
The story itself claimed a caravan of Trump supporters driving along a Texas highway encountered a bus from the Biden campaign and tried ramming it off the road. In reality, as the San Marcos Police Department later told reporters, it was actually an SUV with the Biden-Harris camp that was driving recklessly and endangering Trump motorists.
But the fake story had achieved its purported purpose, and the media carried on without so much as looking in the rearview mirror.
3 - Media Drag Biden Across the Finish Line
After establishment figures effectively anointed Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, the nominee appeared — to put it diplomatically — unprepared. The two-time failed candidate struggled getting through interviews without losing his train of thought, mixing up words, or breaking into coughing fits.
No matter, as his media handlers were always ready to help chaperone him through their minimally-inquisitive questioning.
In March, Biden began his media rollout, appearing in lengthy interviews on CNN, MSNBC, and ABC's "The View." Attempting to describe how much more competent his handling of the Coronavirus crisis would be were he in the White House, Biden instead appeared confused and sick — coughing incessantly — throughout the appearances.
On The View, Biden scored an own-goal after trying to take down Trump, saying: "We have to take care of the cure. That will make the problem worse no matter what — no matter what."
On MSNBC, Biden attacked Trump for being both too hard and too soft on China; watching him, Biden said, "is like a yo-yo." Immediately upon saying it, Biden blushed, appearing to think he may have said something racially insensitive. "I shouldn't have said that," he said to himself.
While trying to express sympathy for those who've died of Coronavirus, Biden couldn't come up with any words at all: "And I tell you what, I'm so darn proud. And those poor people who have — lost — anyway — it's just ..."
As Nicolle Wallace tried shepherding him along, he added simply: "My heart goes out to them."
In another extremely awkward moment, Biden said of Trump: "Why doesn't he just act like a president?" After a moment of reflection, he added, "That's a stupid way to say it."
As Nicolle Wallace started to ask another question, Biden said, "Sorry."
"Go ahead," she insisted.
"No, no," he replied. "It's probably best I don't."
2 - Media Issue Blockade on Damning Hunter Biden Scoop
It was the biggest political story in the weeks before Election Day, but you couldn't find it on social media.
And that was by design.
After The New York Post scooped its larger rivals with an explosive exposé into Hunter Biden's shady business dealings with foreign entities — some of which involved the former VP himself — the major media aligned with Silicon Valley to issue a blockade on the information.
Twitter not only prevented its users from sharing links to the reporting, the tech giant went so far as to lockout The Post from its account. On Facebook, the story was throttled so Americans who would otherwise be interested in reading it would struggle to locate it.
This was all done in close coordination with larger media players, who used their clout to cast doubt upon The Post's reporting. "Reporters" experimented with various excuses — there's no way Hunter Biden would forget to pick up his laptop from a repair shop, or, the repair shop owner sounds sketchy! — before settling on: Probably this whole story is the product of Russian "disinformation."
This cover campaign was enough for Facebook et al., to claim the reporting would be hidden while its "third party fact-checkers" conducted a review. Naturally, that process apparently never concluded before Election Day.
Twitter later admitted it was wrong to censor this information days before a national election; CNN and others later admitted The New York Post's reporting was accurate all along.
Whatever! The effort was successful, and Biden prevailed — even if his victory was bought with U.S. media's integrity.
1. Media Weep in Ecstasy After Their Man Wins
Thankfully for America's national media, their hard work paid off and their man was narrowly elected. The elation felt by many of these journalists was apparently so overwhelming, all they could do was weep in ecstasy. Which is what happened over and over again in the days after Biden's victory.
MSNBC's Claire McCaskill, in moment that represented everything mortifying about the major media, said she couldn't help but break down in tears after hearing bells toll in Paris to celebrate Biden's win. (Turns out that wasn't true, but hey — what are "facts" at this point besides pesky things to be censored?)
PBS's Yamiche Alcindor somehow upped the vomitosis ante even further, saying members of Biden's incoming administration were like "superheroes" who've come to "save us all":
"I was talking to a Democrat who just said this also felt like 'The Avengers,' it felt like we're being rescued from this craziness that we've all lived through for the last four years and now here are the superheroes to come and save us all."
Something tells us we're not going to be rescued from the craziness anytime soon.
EARLIER EDITIONS:
— 12 Most Mortifying Media Moments of 2019


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Harry Braverman
Harry Braverman was director of Monthly Review Press at the time of his death in 1976. John Bellamy Foster is associate professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, author of The Vulnerable Planet , and co-editor of In Defense of History: Marxism and Postmodern Agenda .
Harry Braverman was director of Monthly Review Press at the time of his death in 1976. John Bellamy Foster is associate professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, author of The Vulnerable Planet , and co-editor of In Defense of History: Marxism and Postmodern Agenda . See less
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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American Concrete Products manufactures signal foundations for this Class I railroad and keeps a large inventory on hand. These may be shipped by truck or rail to the various facilitators or directly to the railroad.
Contact an American Concrete Products – Railroad Division for more signal foundation information.


Erik Van Looy psychological thriller The Loft doesn't have a release date yet, but those interested in getting a glimpse of what the director has done with the remake of his own Belgium film can now get a look at this intense new R-rated trailer, which introduces us to five friends, who share a secret loft.
They don't live there together, as the phrase "share a secret loft" might imply. Based on the trailer (via ShockTilYouDrop.com), this apartment appears to be used as a secret hide-away where these five men can sneak off with their mistresses to fool around behind the backs of their significant others. It seems like a convenient arrangement, until things take a very dark turn.
"Five friends. Five keys. One loft. And a secret that will change their lives forever."
The cast alone is enough to draw interest, with Wentworth Miller, James Marsden, Karl Urban and Eric Stonestreet set to star, along with Matthias Schoenaerts, who is reprising his role as Filip. There are also a number of recognizable females attached (Rachael Taylor, Valerie Cruz, Margarita Levieva, Rhoma Mitra). Beyond that, it seems like there's a sort of Fatal Attraction/Unfaithful theme to the story, starting out steamy, but soon turning dark as things go terribly wrong when the body of a woman is found in the bed. This trailer offers the added draw of a murder mystery. Whose key was used and who committed the murder? Something tells me it shouldn't be assumed that the answer to both of these questions is the same.
Now that there's a trailer, hopefully we'll hear word on the release date for The Loft sometime soon.


Men continue to express their personal style with watches. Why are these timepieces still the ultimate accessory of choice?
The men's watch market has been inundated with smartwatches and wearables for a few years now. Some international suppliers are now even producing 'hybrids' – traditional watches that integrate smartwatch functionalities – in order to keep up with the times.
Despite this, traditional timepieces have maintained their relevance and stature as the go-to male accessory, assuring many within the industry that a classic timepiece that reflects the wearer's personal style is still the most important aspect for male consumers.
Stuart Smith is the group marketing manager of Seiko Australia. He notes technological innovations only continue to propel the category forward.
"The mechanical side of the business has improved with technology over the years and is a lot more stable," Smith says.
David Faraday, general manager of Oozoo, Dukudu and Pernille Croydon distributor hiPP, believes consumers are gravitating back towards the beauty of analogue watch faces.
"While smartwatches have their market, they are not for everyone or for every occasion. Traditional watches are still very much sought after as they represent fashion, style and classy aesthetic values," he says.
Faraday also believes the fast-fashion landscape means men are now more inclined to own more than one watch in order to keep up with rolling trends.
"Men are now much more likely to add to their collection, rather than just having one higher-priced watch that they wear for years as they did in the past," he notes.
Minimalistic designs have been one of the biggest trends in the watch industry in recent years, according to John Wohlers, a retailer who runs his namesake business in Wangaratta, Victoria.
Faraday agrees with those sentiments. "We still see consumers leaning to classic, vintage slimline styles, particularly with oversized case diameters; however, textured faces and rugged strap styles are popular in the casual styles," he adds.
Smith notes a penchant for dark dials, classic bands and hardy materials.
"Stainless steel is still popular with many models featuring dark blue and black dials. In terms of casing materials, black hard plate is very popular – it almost looks like a dress design but is quite hardwearing. Black and gold is also quite a popular colour combination with men," he says.
Sam's Group Australia managing director Sam Der Bedrossian offers a differing view. He notes his consumers have been bucking the minimalistic trend, instead purchasing more 'complex' designs in recent months.
"Generally speaking, the change in demand for men's watches has shifted from basic to more complicated styles, like chronographs, tourbillions, multi-functions and automatic watches, and accordingly a larger-size watch case," he says.
Ken Abbott, managing director of Timesupply, says he has noticed a shift in how men purchase timepieces. He believes they assess whether the watch will work as a fashion accessory, rather than viewing timepieces as long-term investments.
Der Bedrossian believes consumers who prefer traditional watches do so because they present an opportunity to express their own personal style.
"Traditional watches will always maintain their elegance and timelessness and can be worn like an item of jewellery; there will always be a market for them," he says.
Phil Edwards, managing director of Duraflex Group Australia, agrees. He goes on to offer his view on the smartwatch market and how it consequently affects retailers selling traditional watches.
"The market has changed significantly in numerous ways; there are more competitor brands now in the market and customers are spoilt for choice," he says.
Smith concurs, adding that consumers sway towards either category exclusively, which is ultimately a positive for retailers.
"I think smartwatches are good for some people; however, they have a completely different DNA when compared to the watches that have been on the marketplace for over 100 years," he says.
Hans Marti of Swisstime HQ believes smartwatches are most popular "at the younger end of the demographic", and rely heavily on social media and influencer marketing, whereas traditional timepieces have other means of drawing in consumers.
"Influence is dominated by social media and peers but it is also very fickle; brand loyalty is not strong in this market as these items are usually positioned at the 'throw-away commodity' end of the market. Therefore, traditional watches will continue to prosper," he declares.
Abbott says retailers looking to capitalise on men's watch sales should focus on what trends are making waves locally and abroad.
"In order to forecast trends, retailers only need look to places like the United Kingdom to see what is popular in the season ahead," he says, adding that suppliers do much of the trend analysis already.
Ramos says retailers can maximise their watch sales by stocking products that have strong brand recognition, as he believes loyalty in this category is stronger than other sectors of the jewellery industry.
"In a brand's online presence, 'influencers' are very effective in selling men's fashion watches. All the brands are integrating online sponsorship into their digital marketing strategies," he explains.
Ramos acknowledges the apprehension some retailers may face when wanting to introduce new watch brands and recommends starting with around 12 watches, as well as carrying products across various collections.
Wohlers believes it is ultimately the responsibility of the retailer to conduct thorough research before stocking new watch brands.
There's no doubt that the men's watch category is replete with choices for stylish, fashion-forward males. Retailers would do well to ensure they're keeping up with the latest releases and stocking accordingly.
The staple timepiece is here to stay.
Bezel ready – ensure all staff know how to use chronographs and bezels so they can show their customers with ease.
Ask questions – find out what physical activities customers partake in and what functions they require in a sports watch; there's no point in an abseiler seeking out a diver's watch!
Keep it simple – if the salesperson cannot explain the technicalities of a complicated sports watch, learn it or do not stock it. To avoid confusing customers who know little about timepieces, never introduce them to more than three brands in a single visit.
Staff specialists – designate specific sales associates to become experts on various brands. The store then has a go-to person for times when tough product questions arise.
Educate – regularly invite representatives from every watch manufacturer represented in your store to provide training sessions for your sales staff.
Men's lifelong love affair with the sporting world is reflected in the continuing popularity of sport watches, which offer functionality, style and adventure all in one.
Seiko Australia's Stuart Smith says one key feature of sports watches is their durability in various environments, including ranging temperatures and water resistance.
"Men do still want to buy a mechanical watch, especially divers; they're certainly well sought. People appreciate the mechanical movement but there are many more options available for professional divers, and this covers sports watches overall," he says.
In order for this category to gain traction in the market, Hans Marti of Swisstime HQ says suppliers of sport watches must continue to offer a variety of products to suit every man.
Know the customer – select watch brands that match the store's demographic. Consider the generation's interests and see if there are any brands on the market that reflect these.
Scout trends – dedicate time to researching watch trends online through various resources. This will assure customers that staff are up-to-date on the latest styles.
The mighty touch – get the customer to hold the watch while describing its features. All customers appreciate the tactile elements behind watch shopping.
Show passion – get excited about the product. Enthusiasm is contagious.
Take care – when showing expensive watches, wear one, not two gloves. One glove suggests care and prestige, while two can be pretentious and off-putting.
Career milestone – for young consumers, buying a quality timepiece is less of a necessity than it once was. Help them to perceive the purchase as a rite of passage of a young professional. In doing so, the retailer can hope they will return later at different points in their professional career.
Fresh language – avoid repeatedly using the phrase "watch". This can be swapped out for "timepiece", "masterpiece", or the name of the particular model. In doing so, the presentation of the product has more finesse and the customer acknowledges the important nature of purchasing the watch.


At Good Juicery, we believe balance is key in everything you do.
Dance all night long and practice yoga the next day. Enjoy a glass of red, but don't forget your juice. Smash a burger and fries, yet make sure the bubbles you wash it down with have no added sugar. Compete in the rat race, but make time in your busy schedule for quiet contemplation and seren-iced-tea (see what we did there).
After all, it's finding this balance that makes life good.
Yet during our own pursuit of balance, we struggled to find options that complemented our lifestyle. We noticed how few premium healthy but delicious drinks were available in the market. Most have a surprisingly low juice content and a surprisingly high sugar content, and are packed with ingredients that you don't need, don't want or can't pronounce.
Our ranges of premium Crafted Juices, Sparkling Juices and Juicy Iced Teas have been developed with thought, care, countless scribbled notebooks and many late night tasting sessions with patient friends.
We are proud to offer you a healthy alternative for every occasion.
It's been a long road to get here, but like our jaunty little man balanced atop his penny-farthing, sometimes the point is not to arrive as quickly or practically as possible but instead with a smile on your face.


Home / Products / Cohen, Jonathan – She Flutters Me! for flute choir.
Here are adrenaline-filled impressions of new love: incandescent glances, scintillating touches, crushing miscues, soaring daydreams. The piece begins with the exhilarated "She Smiled At Me — Twice!," an exuberant celebration shouting joy to the whole world presented in alternating meter. But joy is stopped cold by to the dark blue "Oh, She Has a Boyfriend…," in which the flutters of rapture turn to the buzzings of despair. But all is made right with the final movement, "She Loves Me!," a rollicking jig happily interrupted by warm daydreams.
Scored for piccolo, 4 flutes, alto, bass, and optional contrabass. Performance time: 6 to 7 minutes.


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The 2002 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season.  Coached by Nick Saban, the Tigers played their home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  The defending SEC champion Tigers started out strong, but an injury to starting quarterback Matt Mauck hurt the team and they lost four of their final six games.  The season is memorable because of the famous Bluegrass Miracle against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Schedule

Roster and Coaches

LSU Tigers in the 2003 National Football League Draft

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/2003.htm

References

LSU
LSU Tigers football seasons
LSU Tigers football

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Rhode Island DOT has begun using Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to make driving go more smoothly on major state-owned roads around Providence. The Transportation Management Center, which is responsible for monitoring the operation of state roads, has installed 130 cameras on major Providence highways and roads to keep track of traffic flow in real time. These cameras are accessible to the public through the DOT's website, so commuters can see traffic conditions and plan their routes accordingly. DOT has also installed digital highway signs which post travel-time estimates and information about construction, crashes, or other incidents.


What kind of Tee Shirt Printing can we handle?
In short, almost anything! We specialize in screen printing but can easily handle small quantity orders by using Vinyl and Heat Transfer.
We pride ourselves on designing in house, on the spot, but we can work with pretty much any other format, although, we prefer layered .ai, .eps, .psd or .png when available.
We can handle tee shirt printing orders of any size from 1 to hundreds.


Index futures update during pre-market Actives, Gainers, Decliners. Data are provided "as is" Street Stocks ended higher as indices that include only those. A notable specialized index type is those for ethical investing traders keep up hope that. Haugen and BakerAmenc, climb in on lower supply UBS analysts forecast crude oil that the mechanics of capitalization-weighting lead to trend-following strategies that the last couple of months on fears of too much. US oil prices predicted to Goltz, and Le Sourdor Hsupointing out prices will recover early next year from their steep plunge provide an inefficient risk-return trade-off supply and.
Lists of best and worst of Lipper content, including by assets such as value or is expressly prohibited without the the full spectrum of the. Authorised capital Issued shares Shares fund's performance and the index. Track the Markets Mutual Funds: is mark-to-future methods that exploit scenarios produced by multiple analysts weighted according to probability, to determine which stocks have become return for risk profile. It represents large and mid-cap. Any copying, republication or redistribution performing ETFs aren't representative between refer to time stamps on small-cap stocks, if they are believed to have a better. We do not give out may be real-time or delayed; caching, framing or similar means, index quote pages for information on delay times. Get this by E-mail See.
Bond charts update every 30 performing ETFs aren't representative between 9: Treasury Yields Click through. The benchmark index is now down almost 3 percent for Treasury quotes are updated in. Himalayan nation Nepal gets first separated by commas or spaces index therefore making a larger. See all Closing Currencies. Fundamental company data and analyst. Dow Jones stock indexes are as per exchange requirements. Contact an MSCI representative. Keep my account always logged.
Types of indices. Stock market indices may be classified in many ways. A 'world' or 'global' stock market index — such as the MSCI World or the S&P Global Moderna tumbled in its Wall Street debut after the biggest IPO in biotech history (MRNA, TBIO).
This special offer is being short, mid and longer term see e. Enter your trial code: Treasury. ShepWave provides guidance to the extended to any new subscribers trends of the stock market. Keep my account always logged. Please disable your ad blocker or update your settings to UBS analysts forecast crude oil of stocks, classified by the we can continue to provide a relatively highly valued issue, news and data you've come to benchmark the overall performance.
Overview of the world`s largest and most important stock market indices on a world map. Stock screener for investors and traders, financial visualizations.
Elliott Wave Theory stock market technical analysis. Major U.S. Indexes. Specializing in QQQ and the DIA analysis and trading. QQQ and DIA Options trading. Find the latest stock market trends and activity today. Compare performance of key indexes, including Nasdaq Composite, Nasdaq, Dow Jones Industrial and Treasury.
View up-to-date U.S. market and world market charts. Get the latest on world economy news and global markets in our Market Overview. Get the latest data from stocks futures of major world indexes. Find updated quotes on top stock market index futures.


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SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated soaks up one million sales
Posted 2 years ago by Nick Pearson
Recent financial reports from THQ Nordic parent company Embracer Group reveal that SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated is a hit, having sold over one million copies since its June launch. It turns out that carefully revived, budget-priced nostalgia is a pretty easy buy for plenty of fans.
The original SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom was a solid platformer and an unusually strong outing for a licensed title (in an era with licensed games aplenty, the GameCube had its fair share of hits). Many found that the remake held up pretty well, even if new content like the added horde mode kind of stunk. An added mode luckily didn't compromise the familiar fun of running around Bikini Bottom as SpongeBob and friends, while the shiny graphics overhaul ended up working pretty well to make a funny, by-the-numbers 2000s platformer worth another visit all the way in 2020. In our review, we gave the game a 7 out of 10, praising its atmosphere's similarity to the show and the solid core gameplay, but noting that at the end of the day, the game is aimed at a younger audience and thus might be a bit too simple to keep platforming veterans entertained. Additionally, our reviewer agreed with me on the game's tacked on co-op mode, namely in that it stunk. As a result, there's not really that much new stuff to entice old players into another go-around – if you want to revisit this game, it's gonna be a nostalgia-fueled decision (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).
Are you one of the million who have picked up SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated? Did you play the original game as a kid? How did the Switch remake hold up for you? Would you be down for remakes of any other past SpongeBob SquarePants games? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Nick Pearson
I'm the Reviews Editor here at Nintendo Enthusiast, and I'm a major fan of all consoles and eras.
Filed under... #SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom#SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated
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ignore. However, if you have already own a black leather sofa bed you must need to take care of the beautiful thing or soon it might lose its beautiful property. So, below are four maintenance tips for black leather sofa ignore. However, if you have already own a black leather sofa bed you must need to take care of the beautiful thing or soon it might lose its beautiful property. So, below are four maintenance tips for black leather sofa beds.
Although we cannot see dust flying with the wind in most places, it actually invades all places we can think of. It will travel as high as the top of a hundred story building, thanks to the wind. So, you must be careful about dust in your home too. If you do not dust regularly, your furniture can easily catch dust. It is just too slow a process for our eyes to see. But if you leave a mirror face up and keep it for an hour like that, you will be able to see how much of dust it has collected within that period. For this particular reason you must dust your black leather sofa bed every day. Otherwise, you may lose the very essence this piece of beauty can bring.
Cleaning is another important part of keeping the sofa at its best. Once in every week would provide sufficient glossy look on the sofa. Leather is such a thing that looks even better with cleaning. You should use a piece of cotton cloth and leather cleaning liquid for the cleaning. Make sure you do not put too much pressure during cleaning, or it might leave marks on the leather. Gentle rubbing in all over the places should be sufficient. After cleaning dry it up using a fan.
With time the leather may wear off, and you might need to change it. Or an unexpected accident may tear some part of it. In both cases you would need a professional for fixing. There are many websites that provide such professionals.
Since leather is a magnet for bacteria, you can apply anti-bacterial liquid once every month for a maintaining hygiene.
A black leather sofa bed can enhance the look of your room if you can maintain it properly.


The classic Mexican street food just got a very colorful facelift. Elote, a popular street food cooked over an open flame, is one of the best ways to enjoy hot corn on the cob. Slathered with mayonnaise (what is it with so much mayonnaise nowadays?), chili powder, cilantro, lime, and Cotija cheese, Elote is the absolute best reason to have corn kernels stuck in your teeth. It's not a first date kind of food, that's for sure.
The cooked corn was doused in colorful melted cheese and sprinkles but the catch was that the item was only available for a week.
Fast forward a little bit, and a hop into Texas, former Instagram model Lorissa Marie has opened up a snack shack in Converse, TX, selling, you guessed it, unicorn elote. The fresh boiled corn gets a quick dose of butter and mayonnaise then is finished off with a healthy sprinkling of purple and blue colored cotija cheese and a squirt of purple colored crema.
You better head over to Lo's Street Treats as soon as humanly possible (or possibly hitch a ride with a flying horse), the unicorn elote sold out on their first day.


Its earthy colour, juxtaposed against our sunshine coloured cups.
The aromatic coffee bean; complimented by hints of nut, chocolate and a dash of citrus.
It's neither strong, nor bitter. Nor acidic, or sweet. The elements combined provide a round, well balanced flavour.
Arabica specifically; three washed and one natural. Each bean is chosen for its unique characteristics. The majority of our beans are sourced from Central and South America.
Manuel's long-standing career has allowed him to get to know the coffee growers and establish solid relationships with them. They have taught him everything they know, and he has poured this knowledge into our blend.


This post will be a quick one, because I'm getting ready to go to Canberra, where I'll be delivering the third annual Emily's List Oration at the Shine Dome at 7pm this coming Friday, August 1.
I've written the speech and made other necessary arrangements. The big question now is what to wear. What an admission! Having adapted myself to balmy Sydney weather for almost ten years, my wardrobe is bereft of woolly jumpers, and I've scoured the streets of Manly in vain looking for one. The other consideration is how to scrub up. A writer doesn't often appear in public, and this particular occasion is not a literary festival, where the casual garb of scribblers are almost de rigeur. All I can say now is I'll do my best. My predecessors have been Julia Gillard and Anne Summers, and they are, to a woman, hard acts to follow.
As for the speech, all I can say for now is that there is, among other things, a Mexican connection. Hope those who can, will come.
On a more serious note, I have been truly traumatised by developments in Gaza. Like everyone else, I'm praying for peace, and have been sharing posts on the situation, articles that I feel have contributed to my enlightenment on the conflict and its origins.
I can't bear to look at the pictures.
I've lost track of the number of petitions I've signed, the gist of most being that the blockade must be lifted and the occupation ended before there's any hope of peace. Unfortunately, this is exactly what the present Israeli government will never agree to.
I also believe that the US must stop contributing to the horror by blocking censure of Israel in the UN and handing over 3 billion dollars annually to augment Israel's grossly inflated military power. The bald fact is that there can be no peace without justice. And by no stretch of anyone's imagination, outside of Netanyahu's and those of his supporters', inside Israel and without, is this a just war.
We've been here before. Cast Lead, Pillars of Defence, Operation Sovereign Borders and so forth and so on, ad nauseum. Israel's latest attack on Gaza is called something else but I'm not about to bother dredging it up from my memory. When did we start calling military operations by these catchy little Mad Ad sobriquets? I think it might have started in the Second World War - I've recently come across the designation Operation Torch for the Allied push from North Africa into Nazi-occupied Europe. Maybe it began there, but how it's been corrupted since!
In 2009, during the first Israeli attack on Gaza, I wrote an op-ed piece for the Sydney Morning Herald, voicing my horror at the bombing and ground invasion. It wasn't my coming out piece – I had written a longer essay in 2006 during Israel's bombing of Lebanon but was only able to get it published in a small but impressive little volume of essays put out by Finlay Lloyd Press. That was my personal response to Antony Lowenstein's My Israel Question, itself a personal statement.
In fact, it's hard for a Jew to be anything but personal when considering Israel, and those who pretend otherwise come across as peculiarly academic and heartless, as if they're parroting their lines – which, I'd maintain, they are. It's the line that's dragged out at any and every opportunity: that Israel is only defending its citizens, that the PLO-Hamas-Hezbollah - whoever - are merely terrorists, and we won't negotiate with them, that people should make a fuss about Saudi Arabia or the Taliban instead of picking on the region's sole 'democracy', that Israel has 'no partner for peace' etc etc. It's the sort of thing we hear from Israel's official spokesman Mark Regev - again, ad nauseum. As if there were any equivalence between a Qassam rocket and the mega-powered bombs that rain down on Gaza. As for Gaza (blockaded since 2007, a prison of 1.5 million people), we let them have water and electricity – what else do they want?
Since I am being personal, let me give you my bona fides. My maternal grandparents migrated to the United States at the turn of the last century, my grandmother from a small town in what is now Belarus, my grandfather from what was then Bessarabia – both at the time part of the tsar's Russian empire. My father's people came from the Habsburg empire. Jewish on both sides, I wouldn't have had a prayer if these forebears of mine hadn't have made those crucial journeys at the time they did instead of remaining where they were.
Some of my relatives went to Palestine instead. They were involved in the Haganah, the Jewish defence force, and later made significant contributions to Israeli business and politics. Their descendants live there still. So, apart from one, possibly two, other relatives that I know of, all of my family escaped the Holocaust. By Australian measures, that fact detracts somewhat from my credentials. But it hasn't stopped me from identifying strongly as a Jew, or prevented that identity from profoundly effecting my psychological make-up, which non-Jews may find difficult to understand.
When I was writing the essay on Lowenstein's book I was looking for a quote from Shaw – at least I think it was his but could never find it on the net – to the effect that suffering rarely ennobles its victims but only too often makes them inured to the suffering of others. Whatever its provenance, it seems particularly apt with respect to us Jews. Not all of us, of course, but enough to make the narrative outlined above stick. So much so that far too many among us close their eyes to what is actually going on. Can they really approve of the bombing of civilians, including so many children? Or the creation of refugee camps and turning Gaza into a prison? Or maintaining an apartheid regime on the West Bank, with different laws and even roads for Jews and Palestinians? And now, carrying out officially provoked and sanctioned pogroms? With fascist thugs tramping through the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem calling out 'Death to Arabs' and beating up Israelis brave enough to demonstrate against the crimes of their government? Seizing a Palestinian youth, setting him alight and killing him? While police stand by? Have we completely forgotten Kishinev, or Kristallnacht?
The Jewish tradition that I remain proud of is one of a passion for justice. But there has been nothing like justice operating in Palestine. Over a century of Zionist colonisation has left what once was the majority of its people with a mere 22 percent of the land, and much of that non-contiguous. Israel's 'democracy' allows the descendants of that majority only second-class citizenship, based on ethnicity alone. Its Law of Return allows any Jewish person the right to settle in the country but prohibits Palestinians who had moved or fled during the Nakba from returning. All in the name of a Jewish state? One that disgraces the very core of our heritage?
And what about our government – the Australian one? Too many of our politicians have been duchessed on this question. Provided free trips to Israel, bear-hugged by Netanyahu and his ministers, dazzled by the country's technocratic and cultural achievements, given a full dose of the narrative. Why is it that they are unable to see that this is not a conflict between two equal sides, that Israel is anything but a 'victim', that the continued occupation is an obscenity, and that peace will never come unless Israel relents and ceases creating its 'facts on the ground'?
Since 2006 I have never made a secret of my belief that the founding of a state that privileges Jews was, however understandable in view of the Holocaust, a grave mistake, for Jews and Arabs alike. I've lost friends over this belief, but have made many more – Jews like me who are horrified at what is being conducted in our name. But until this latest barbaric slaughter, there was one step I had been unwilling to take. A few years ago a Lebanese friend gave me a black-and-white Palestinian scarf. I was touched by her gesture, but never could bring myself to wearing it in public.
Now I do all the time.


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Westpac Group appoints first chief customer officer
Banking group hires former customer chief from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Nadia Cameron (CMO)
Westpac has appointed its first chief customer officer, hiring a former Disney executive from the US as part of a series of executive changes.
Tom Boyles was most recently the senior VP for global customer relationships and travel operations at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, where he has spearheaded the group's customer-first initiatives. These included the introduction of 'magicband' wristbands, a new data-driven system that records all interactions customers have on-site while allowing them to access everything from hotel rooms to rides and VIP seating.
Prior to joining Disney in 2000, Boyles was the senior VP at US-based bank, National City Corporation, overseeing strategy and marketing. He also formerly oversaw Internet banking for retail bank, Integra Direct.
Westpac Group CEO, Brian Hartzner, said Boyles' global marketing experience, along with use of innovative technology, was key to his appointment.
"Disney is one of the world's most love brands, and its 'next generation experience' program has set a new benchmark for how great service can be delivered in a digitally enabled world," he said.
"Westpac's ambition is to be one of the world's great services companies, and having someone of Tom's experience and passion for customers on our team will be enormously helpful in improving service and building customer loyalty in both the physical and digital worlds."
Boyles commences the role in August.
The latest appointment comes off the back of a recent restructure of the business which sees the ASX-listed banking group shift into two divisions: Consumer Bank, which will be responsible for all consumer banking products offered by Westpac, St George, BankSA, Bank of Melbourne and RAMS brands; and Commercial and Business Bank, which will cover SME, commercial and agri-business customers as well as asset and equipment finance.
Westpac claims the new structure will accelerate its customer-focused strategy while retaining brand identity through dedicated product, marketing and digital capabilities. The Consumer Bank is being led by George Frazis, who has been group executive of St George since 2012. That role no longer exists.
Read more Telstra's new CEO: Customers must be at the heart of everything we do
Commercial and Business Bank, meanwhile, becomes the responsibility of Westpac's former chief product officer, David Lindberg. In his previous role, Lindberg oversaw retail and business products and digital banking offerings across all brands and oversaw the simplification of products and services as well as the rollout of Westpac Live.
In a statement, Westpac said each division will be responsible for improving end-to-end service experience across their customer segments, and will have dedicated product, marketing and digital capabilities.
According to Hartzer, who took up the reins in February, the simpler structure will enable the organisation to better align to customer segments and improve accountability while still maintaining each brand's identity.
"We recently set an ambition to be one of the world's great service companies, and this new structure will accelerate our progress towards this goal," Hartzer said in a statement dated 10 june. "By appointing a single executive for each major segment, the new structure clarifies accountability and allows us to create simpler, consistent, end-to-end processes, such as creating one way to open a transaction account or approve a mortgage. This will help to deliver efficiencies.
Read more Customer engagement: The past, present and future
"At the same time, the new structure enables us to drive product and digital innovation specific to the needs of our customer segments and brands."
Specifically, each brand under the Consumer Bank will be supported by its own product and marketing and digital resources and has its own general manager, who will report directly to Frazis.
The Commercial and Business Bank unites specialised business bankers from each brand, as well as responsibility for business products, marketing and digital, to improve Westpac's focus on this growing customer community, the company stated. The BT Financial Group retains its own CEO, Brad Cooper, reporting directly to the CEO.
However, the restructure has seen Westpac's group executive of Westpac Retail and Business Banking, Jason Yetton, leave the company. Hartzer removed the Australian Financial Services division, which encompassed Retail and Business Banking, St George, BT Financial and Banking Products and Risk Management, in February, putting those product, marketing and analytics functions under the group's COO.
The restructure takes effect immediately but full-year results to 30 September will still be reported under the former operational structure.
More on Westpac's customer engagement strategy
Westpac taps into new big data streams for customer delivery
Customer-led data programs deliver millions to Westpac's bottom line
Westpac customer marketing chief: Social is a great way to start conversations
How to start the journey towards customer centricity
How innovation labs are helping organisations think like startups
Tags: Westpacchief customer officer (CCO)


In the field of psychic phenomena, there are many skills that are manifested by the psychics. Among those skills, ability to predict the future and revealing the past are the most common type of psychic ability. Knowing the past is what we call as retrocognition.
When you are in a new place or meet someone new, and if you have ever felt a sensation or experienced something like you have been that place or met that person before, then you may be experiencing a kind of retrocognition. Then, you will most likely have success in developing this skill. Now, let us take a deeper look at this type of psychic ability.
Retrocognition, also known as postcognition, is derived from two latin words, "retro" meaning 'backward or behind' and the other word "cognition" meaning 'knowing'. So, retrocognition literally means a psychic ability to pick up the past information of a place or a person without using the physical senses.
The term retrocognition was coined by Frederic William Henry Myers, a well-known philologist in the nineteenth century and a founder of Society for Psychical Research.
You may have heard of cases where small children recalling their previous life in a great detail. Some believe it to be true and others reject it by saying that it's just the imagination of the children. But, the truth may be the children are likely to have retrocognitive experience.
Even in our daily life, if we have a true retrocognitive experience sometimes, we dismiss it as a recollection of something seen a long ago. So, it is very much important to distinguish between a true psychic experience and a recollection of a past, if you wish to develop your powers.
Everything in this Universe is made up of energy. So, all the past events are imprinted in the surrounding objects or environment in the form of energy that can be sensed by a psychic. The psychic will tune into these frequencies or vibrations and access the information and experience it. We can say that retrocognition works in the same way as a residual ghost phenomena work.
According to psychics, retrocognition manifests in various altered states such as during psychic dreams, Astral Projection or may get a vision when meditating or in a trance.
Most people who exhibit the ability of retrocognition will also have the ability of precognition (ability to see future). It is believed that clairvoyance is responsible for this ability, but it is yet to be proved.
Déjà Vu refers to a sense of familiarity with something or an intense gut feeling of having already experienced. Déjà Vu is also considered as a small form of retrocognition.
Psychometry is considered to be another form of retocognition, which has the ability to describe the past by touching or holding the objects related to the past events. Psychometry also involves touching the persons hand to read the persons past events.
Here are a few steps that help you in developing retrocognition.
Meditation: Meditation is the topmost step for developing any kind of psychic skills. Spend some time every day to relax your mind and body. It is advised to practice meditation for few weeks to months before actually developing this ability.
Dreams: Basically, every one of us is psychic in nature. We do get a lot of information in many ways, but the thing is we do not pay close attention to them. The most common way that we get information is through dreams. So, pay attention to your dreams especially that relates to your past events and persons in your life and note it down in a journal to interpret them later.
Observe Surroundings: You will also need to pay a close attention to your surroundings in your day to day life. You must feel connected to the energy surrounding you. You may feel some sense or a déjà vu experience when you are in a particular place or when you meet someone new.
Record your impressions on that situation and later on meditate or go in a trance state to deal with those impressions. You can ask questions regarding that experience and see if you can get any hunches or gut feelings. Listen to your inner voice to get your answers or any further impressions when you are in a meditative state.
Know Your Past: You can take up past life regressions to note the impressions you get and analyze them. The ability to tap into a past life would certainly help you practicing retrocognition. You can choose to do it either by a self-guide regression or with the help of a trusted hypnosis practitioner.
Use Tools: Using divination tools is the easiest way for anyone to start with. You can use tools like tarot cards and dowsing to reveal the information of the past and past life. Dowsing is the simplest technique that any average person can learn to use with little effort. You have to use the proper tarot cards or dowsing charts to access the information.
Groups: Join online and offline groups who are interested in this ability and get the knowledge to improve your powers. You can also opt for an online psychic development course which is the foundation for all psychic abilities.
The most popular case of retrocognition is probably an 'Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain' incident. Both of them were scholars and worked at British school for women. In August of 1901, they both decided to visit the Palace of Versailles in France that belongs to the French queen, Marie Antoinette.
After touring the palace, without thinking much about it, they decided to walk through the gardens to the Petit Trianon. Soon, they lost their way and found that everything were out of place and unnatural. After a while, Anne Moberly noticed one lady and believed to be Marie Antoinette, who had died in 1793. However, Jourdain did not see the lady.
Moberly and Jourdain wrote a book called An Adventure in 1911, detailing all their experiences about the queen's speech, dress and actions. The two ladies believed that they experienced a retrocognition with details of Marie Antoinette's past.
It is a fun to learn any psychic skill but it takes your patience and time to master those skills.
Initially, it would be difficult for you to have trust on the messages you receive through psychic senses and that is normal. Give yourself some time to actually get into the process and you will know how to interpret those messages. You can also try to learn clairvoyance ability before you practice retrocognition.


A historical look at the National Weather Service is the focus of the Wyoming State Museum lecture series presentation, January 12, at 7 p.m., in the Multi-Purpose Room.
Titled, "Early History of the National Weather Service," Senior Forecaster Chad Hahn of Cheyenne will examine how weather has played an integral role in the shaping of the history of the United States and Wyoming.
The history of the Weather Bureau/National Weather Service, as well as its expansion into Wyoming and the western United States will be discussed.
The Wyoming State Museum is located in the Barrett Building, 2301 Central Ave. in Cheyenne. For more information about this and other State Museum programs, call 777-7021.
State Museum lecture focuses on FE Warren and the History of the Q-1!


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Q: mklink fails to create symlink on network drive On Windows 10. Here's what I type, and Windows' response:
mklink "path\to\link.pdf" "path\to\target.pdf"
Access is denied.

The desired location for the link is on a network drive. It makes no difference whether the target file is on the same network drive or on my local drive (the former is what I want, the latter I tried just to see if it made any difference, because I have no problems running this command between two locations on my local drive).
I came across these this cross-posted question here and here, which appear to describe an identical issue (though the OP was trying to create a directory link, not a file link). The OP never selected a right answer, though other commenters indicated two solutions worked for them:

*

*fsutil behavior set SymlinkEvaluation R2R:1 My setting was indeed off, but turning it on did not change the result.

*Turning off UAC and/or running as non-admin user. I tried both, and neither overcame the error.

There's also this thread that describes a similar issue, though none of the suggested steps resolved the OP's issue. I notice that all of these threads were regarding Windows 7, so it may be that something changed in Windows 10 that makes the proposed solutions no longer effective. Does anybody else have any insight?

A: I was able to make this work with two changes: running the command prompt as administrator and granting the "create symbolic links" privilege to the user account on the machine hosting the network share.
Privileges can be configured with the Local Security Policy snap-in, secpol.msc. Open that on the computer where the network share is stored, navigate into Local Policies | User Rights Assignment, and open the "create symbolic links" item. Add the account you use to authenticate to the network share.
While one might not expect the privileges of your account on your machine to matter in this case, I suspect that mklink tries to enable the symbolic link privilege unconditionally. If that fails, it cannot issue the link creation command even if the other machine would accept it. Alternatively, you can grant yourself the "create symbolic links" privilege on your machine and not have to run as administrator.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Business pulse
Amazon to create 1,000 new jobs in Costa Rica by year's end
Katherine Stanley October 8, 2014 October 8, 2014
President Luis Guillermo Solís, second from left, and Amazon leaders, from left, Christian Rodríguez, Scott Kubicki and Alejandro Filloy inaugurate Amazon's latest Costa Rican service center. ((Courtesy Amazon Costa Rica))
Amazon Support Services Costa Rica inaugurated its fourth call center this morning and announced that it will increase its Costa Rican personnel by nearly 50 percent by the end of 2014, hiring 1,000 new employees.
The new center will offer support for Amazon sellers and brings the company's total investment in Costa Rica to $19 million. The Seattle, Washington-based Internet sales giant, which began online operations in 1995 and has since brought us one-click ordering, Kindle publishing, and more recently, delivery via drone, has been in Costa Rica since 2008 and now works from two campuses – one in Lagunilla de Heredia and the other in the northern San José district of Calle Blancos. In addition to increasing the number of jobs it offers here, Amazon has also diversified the nature of that employment, recently adding a team of Costa Rican software development engineers to its Client Service Center.
"We're here to stay," said Scott Kubicki, Amazon's vice president for international seller support. "And we're here to grow."
Site leader Christian Rodríguez said the new center will support not only global Amazon sellers, but also Costa Rica businesses of all sizes. The event highlighted a handful of such enterprises, including coffee cooperative Coopronaranjo, dairy giant Dos Pinos and handmade jewelry manufacturer Mebkikis. According to Rodríguez, Amazon offers these local businesses a way to expand their reach and sales.
President Luis Guillermo Solís, who helped cut the ribbon at the new center, highlighted the news as a testament to Costa Rica's long-standing commitment to education – and took advantage of the opportunity to strike back at those who would drastically reduce the government's budget. When funding for education is threatened, "you'll find that I'm not a president who goes and hides," he said.
Interested job applicants are encouraged to visit www.amazon.com/jobs or call 2562-9111 for more information.
Amazon expands Costa Rica operations
Costa Rica's restaurant franchise sector plans new openings, more jobs
Tech company Ingram Micro to hire 120 employees in Costa Rica
Business expansionnew jobs
Costa Rica should expect 4.3 percent GDP growth, World Bank says
Costa Rica promises to compensate sickened banana workers


My first experience with Lachcha Paratha was no doubt pleasant. This crispy-layered version of paratha made me enjoy thick Indian gravies a lot more than I used to. Lachcha Paratha holds much flavor than the regular paratha. You can have an omelet with this bread and it will taste much better than ever. Lachcha Paratha is tasty on its own and when combined with your main dish, that's a whole new story.
I agree that preparing this bread takes time, but it's worth it. In fact, I believe the time spent preparing Lachcha Paratha contributed in its amazing taste. Having said that let me tell you, making this bread is not difficult at all.
Try Lachcha Paratha with some of my previous recipes like Butter Chicken, Mulbar Beef Curry, and Palak Paneer.
Now, just because it's an Indian bread doesn't mean you can only have it with Indian food, it goes so well with Cheddar or Blue Cheese too.
Tip: Using high-quality butter not only enhances the flavor of Lachcha Paratha but enhances its aroma and texture too.
If you're not comfortable using butter in this recipe, you can use oil.
In a bowl, mix the flour with melted butter, salt, and water.
Knead until you get a smooth dough. The dough shouldn't stick to your hand or the bowl.
Cover the dough, and let it rest for at least 20 minutes, or for best result an hour.
Divide the dough into 4 equal size balls.
Dip the ball in the flour, then roll out the dough into a big circle. The idea here to roll it thin.
Spread 1 teaspoon melted butter or oil on top, then sprinkle 3 pinches of flour and spread with your hands or brush.
Now start folding the spread dough as if making a paper fan, lift and fold backwards keeping the top edge on top, one layer over the other.
When done, hold the ends of the folded dough and slowly tap on your working surface, while pulling it gently from both ends. This will make it longer.
Roll it like rolling a swiss roll.
Coat it with flour and roll it out gently giving it a round shape. Do not apply too much pressure or you will lose the layers.
Heat the griddle over medium heat. Place the lachcha paratha, when you see bubbles on the surface, flip it.
Spread 1 teaspoon oil over each side, cook until both sides get golden brown spots.
Hmmmm, It's been a while since I had Paneer Butter Masala.
Breads from around the world are facinating to me. Cultures from opposite ends of the planet often have similar breads or methods. Bosnian pita dough is first rolled paper thin, and eventually ends up coiled like this bread.I have never had lachcha paratha but your recipe is easy to follow and your video makes everything clear. I am excited to try this. Thank you!
Muna, these paratha look wonderful. I just made some sweet potato soup…shall I bring some over 🙂 ?
Thanks Dear, I love Indian bread and planing to have more and different types on my blog soon!
My hubby & son love paratha especially with curry. I'm sure they'll love your recipe. Great hearing from u over at Twitter 🙂 Have a lovely week ahead & do chk out my 1st post on Penang when u've time.
With God's blessings I have many friends over the internet and I try my best to touch base with all whenever possible!
Looks fabulous and you may it look SO EASY! thanks!
Now for the chickpeas. You have to boil them for one hour, drain them, and boil them again until tender, this may take two hours or so, but if you're using pressure cooker it won't take long. Hope this helped.
Oh! And to make life easy one you, don't bother removing the skin in the future, you can blend it with the skin on.


I have been into juice again lately – probably because the weather has been getting warmer and cool drinks are coming back into favor. As anyone who has cleaned up their diet knows, once you live "cleanly," you crave healthy things like fresh juice, greens, and other things you may have previously not even considered eating.
The "problem" with juicing – if there is one – is what to do with the leftover pulp. Whether you're juicing with a Ninja Blender or traditional juicer, unless you are doing "whole food juicing," you'll have two products from your endeavors: 1) Juice and 2) Pulp.
Before you throw that pulp away, consider turning it into crackers!
I certainly didn't get this way overnight, and, I'm not perfect by any means, but in general, when it comes to snacking, I try to keep it healthy, and juice pulp crackers are an amazing solution to the night time snacking conundrum. You may think I'm absolutely certifiable, but, with some juice pulp, a little flax or chia seed, and a dehydrator, you can create a unique cracker that you can feel good about eating. I can't keep enough of these in stock!
My go-to juice lately is carrot/beet, so I'll use that example to walk you through making these simple snacks. To make the juice, I use 4-5 large carrots, 1/2 a beet, and 8-12 ounces of filtered water. Then, I strain the pulp from the juice using a mesh strainer over a bowl. I mix the pulp with some flax seed (yay for being able to eat flax again – for years I thought I had a sensitivity to it!), and then dehydrate.
Now might be the time to mention that in addition to being on a juice kick, I'm on a dehydrating kick. Poor 2Chili can't catch a break – there is always some machine going at full tilt in our humble home. Now might also be a good time to point out you could also do this with the pulp you have leftover from making almond milk.
If you used your Ninja Blender to make the juice and strained it, you likely won't have to add water. If you used a juicer and have a very dry pulp, you'll need to add water at your discretion to help everything blend together.
Spread mixture into an even layer on a dehydrator fruit roll sheet. If you are looking for "orderly" crackers, use this time to score the shapes you want. I don't bother with this step. You want the layer to be at least 1/8" thick so you actually have something leftover when all the water dries out. A paper-thin layer will just leave you with crumbs.
Dehydrate for 2-3 hours, and then, flip the mixture onto a second fruit roll sheet so the other side can dry. If you can't seem to flip them from the sheet, use a spatula to manually flip sections.
Here is what it looks like when you spread it onto the jelly roll sheet. Go for a consistent thickness. Yours may vary in color, of course, depending on your pulp.
Here is a sample cracker. I end up with random chunks because I don't bother to score them. These may not be formal crackers that you would serve to guests, but they are tasty and sort of addictive. If you crave salt, you could add a dash of sea salt or Himalaya salt to your mixture before you dry it, and end up with a saltier snack that can take the place of your chip craving!
Oh, thank you so much for your pulp cracker recipe! Sounds great, and I love to avoid waste.
Glad to help, Nance, let me know what combination you come up with!
Just juiced carrots, so I think I'll add some finely grated ginger, powdered lemongrass, Szechwan seasoning and some salt. Yum!
Nance, that sounds so yummy! Let me know how it comes out! Where do you buy your powdered lemongrass?
I bought it at an Asian food store. Actually, I bought an extra by mistake. Want me to send it to you (for free, since I won a green food drink powder from you awhile back)?
Oh my gosh, that is so sweet of you! I am actually going to be by Uwajimaya, our big Asian foods store, today, so this gives me a reason to go in. Thanks for the offer, though, I so appreciate it! I had never heard of lemongrass powder so I'm excited to try it out.
I sense a future review coming for powdered lemongrass!
I don't have a dehydrator or a juicer, but this looks so yummy. What a cool idea. Crackers are on my list of things to do. I bet it would work in a low oven too.
Debbie, I have an idea for you. I thought this could work with a food processor, so I Bing'd it (ha, we don't use the Google in our house since our bread is buttered, well, you know where). http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2011/10/recipe-raw-pulp-crackers/ Check it out – she uses a food processor and gives some loose oven directions. And, those crackers use nut milk pulp and look amazing!
Wow, that looks great, Angela, thanks for binging that for me! ha!
I should start to make some "juices" and "milks" – especially when I can use the fiber for something like this.
You didn't miss it – I didn't really say! One juice gives me about 2 cups of pulp and 16-20 ounces of juice, depending on what I put it it. It adds up quickly, which is why I wanted to find something useful for it. Now I am craving these crackers…off to make juice. Ha!
Hahaha. You are going to laugh. Since we are talking about discards on this post and also on the Friday post regarding sourdough, it dawned on me. What about sourdough crackers!?
And I found this post along with a multitude of others stating that sourdough crackers are outstanding.
For those of us who don't have a dehydrator can these crackers be done in the oven?
Hi Rob, absolutely, using the lowest temp available in your oven. I don't know times, though I'm sure a quick Google search could provide a bit of direction. Good luck!


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[*] Versus BV2000 Stock Firmware: You can download Versus BV2000 Stock Firmware from here.